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DEA Leadership Blasted In Report On Student Left In Cell For Days

Michele Leonhart

By Ryan ReillyHuffington Post

WASHINGTON — The leadership of the Drug Enforcement Administration comes under fire in a report issued by the Justice Department Office of the Inspector General on the near-death of a college student left in a holding cell for five days. The review finds that DEA leadership “violated Department of Justice and DEA policy” and delayed a proper investigation into the incident by not reporting it to the inspector general’s office immediately.

While a summary of the IG report on Daniel Chong’s hellish ordeal while in the custody of the DEA had previously been released, a redacted version of the full report was just released to The Huffington Post in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The report indicates that DEA Deputy Administrator Thomas Harrigan planned to discuss the situation with Administrator Michele Leonhart in the days after the incident. DEA leadership subsequently made a decision to have a review conducted by a district attorney instead of immediately reporting the incident to the Justice Department inspector general’s office as it should have.

“DEA management’s decision to conduct a management review instead of ensuring that the matter was promptly referred to the OIG was troubling,” the report stated